Workplace bullying in NHS community trust: staff questionnaire survey
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Bullying is a serious problem in the NHS experienced by more than one in three staff, says Lyn Quine from the University of Kent at Canterbury in this week's BMJ.
In a survey of 1100 employees working for an NHS community trust in south east England, the author found that 38 per cent of employees reported experiencing one or more types of bullying in the previous year. 42 per cent of employees had witnessed the bullying of others. Quine found that when bullying occurred it was more than likely to be by a manager and even though two thirds of victims tried to take action, they were dissatisfied with the outcome.
The authors says that staff who have been bullied have lower levels of job satisfaction and higher levels of job induced stress, depression, anxiety and intention to leave. However, she also says that support at work can help to protect victims from some of the damaging effects of bullying and therefore calls upon employers to implement policies and procedures that comprehensively address the issue.
Contact:
Lyn Quine, Reader in Health Psychology, Centre for Research in Heath Behaviour, Department of Psychology, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury
t: +44 1227 823078
f: +1227 827032
email: L.Quine@ukc.ac.uk